Traditions

Since its inception, Farmingdale State College has developed some of the most intriguing
and celebrated traditions on Long Island, many of which remain today. The campus carillon
continues to toll; the Memorial Oak continues to remind us of the sacrifices made
by young soldiers in the last Century. Among the lasting traditions are the school
colors, green and white, which are used by the athletics teams and commonly seen in
the architecture and signage on campus. "Go Green" is not only an environmental slogan
familiar to faculty and students concerned with the state of the planet, it's also
a chant heard at basketball games.

Many of the campus traditions reside in some of the oldest buildings on campus, such
as Hicks Hall and Cutler Hall, which were constructed in 1914; Horton Hall, which
was named after D. Hart Horton, a Poultry Science professor; Knapp Hall, which once
served as a residence hall and now houses the University Club; Conklin Hall, which
was the location of the first heating plant; and Thompson Hall, which was originally
the administration building.

At Farmingdale State, faculty and students get a glimpse of tradition every day just
by strolling across an historic campus.

Cutler and Hicks Halls' WPA Murals

Hicks and Cutler Halls are home to four oil on canvas murals, painted in 1936, during
the depression-era programs of the Works Progress Administration, by Frederick Marshall
and C.E.Lessing. This program, later the Works Projects Administration (WPA), was
intended to employ artists in creating highly visible public art. Commonly the murals
showed American life in the local settings where the works would be permanently displayed.
These murals depart from the pattern of showing local scenes. Featured below, the
6-foot-by-19-foot mural by Marshall depicts rice being harvested in a landscape dominated
by a mountain looking much like Mount Fuji.

Additionally, the buildings feature a 6 x 15 mural of a wheat-threshing scene. And
even more curious, one of Marshall's murals in Hicks Hall, appears to show slaves
picking cotton in the antebellum South, with a plantation mansion and a riverboat
in the background. The Lessing mural in Cutler Hall, a 6 x 19 mural, shows a redwood
forest that could only be on the West Coast.

Memorial Oak

Located outside Whitman Hall, the Memorial Oak was planted on June 4, 1921 to honor
those who fought in World War I. Soils from every state and all Allied Nations were
collected for the planting.

A plaque at the base of the Oak contains a dedication: This Oak, Planted June 4, 1921, Commemorates The Efforts, Sacrifices And Achievements
Of All Americans Who Gave Their Lives In The World War.

Its Roots Rest in Soil From All The Allied Nations, From Every State And Dependency
Of Our Country, From The Bloody Angle Of Gettysburg And From The Arc De Triomphe Of
France.

"On Fames Eternal Camping-Ground Their Silent Tents Are Spread, And Glory Guards With
Solemn Round The Bivouac Of The Dead."

This Tablet Is The Gift Of The Class Of 1927.

Thompson Hall Mosaic

In the vestibule of Thompson Hall, a mosaic depicts a shingled 1½ story cottage, similar
to the style often seen on the East End of Long Island.

Built into the left side of the vestibule as you enter through the outside door, the
mosaic is approximately 4 x 3 in size. Created with smooth, irregularly shaped tiles
and with great attention to detail, it shows the side of a wooden house, separated
from another house in the distance by a picket fence. Trees and peonies are in bloom,
so the artist must have wanted to depict late May - early June on Long Island.

The artist who created this mosaic was John L. Northam, according to an article in
the Press Wireless Signal of Queens, N.Y. A pressman at the Wireless, as well as a professor at NYU from 1925-28, Northam is described as a designer,
painter, architect and artist. The article refers to the mosaic as "Home Sweet Home."

According to Northam's son, Basil, a resident of Southold, NY, Northam worked for
the Works Project Administration during the Depression. Why "Home Sweet Home" was
the chosen subject of the mosaic in Thompson Hall is not known.

Annual Garden Festival

The annual Garden Festival—a unique and widely-acclaimed campus tradition— attracts
thousands of visitors from throughout the region. The event is one of the most well-known
spring activities across Long Island, showcasing the horticultural talents and efforts
of students and faculty. Funds from the sale of plants and flowers go to support Farmingdale’s
Horticulture department, one of the College’s oldest and most revered academic programs. Tours
of the College's Ornamental Teaching Gardens--one of the finest of its kind in the
nation--are held for alumni as part of the festivities.

Farmingdale State Alma Mater

On the land between the waters Where the wind blows from the sea Stands our noble Alma Mater For everyone to see.

We will raise her name to glory As the years go rolling by Her precepts stand before us now Like stars up in the sky.

We salute thee Alma Mater As we gather here today All thy sons and all thy daughters Will honor thee always.

As our voices swell the chorus We will hold on high your light Fling wide your banner over us Fair hues of Green and White.

Ram-Bo

Farmingdale State's intercollegiate athletic teams are called the Rams, a tribute
not only to the College's legacy as an agricultural institute, but also to the characteristics
associated with rams: power, force, drive, energy, protection, and fearlessness. The
use of a live ram mascot dates back as far as the 1940s. Today, a student wearing
a ram costume serves in the role. The name of the mascot-"Ram-bo"- was chosen in an
online contest in 2008, with the winning name outpolling other suggestions such as
Ozzie, Doc, Roger, and Dale.